Oh what a beautiful afternoon!

[cyan_maid]

Who: Jane Crocker and YOU! (Open)
What: A relaxed garden party
When: May 16th, beginning around noon.
Where: The castle gardens
Rating: G for GARDEN PARTY

If you enter the castle's garden today, you are met with the sight of a party!

There are blankets laid out on the grass, and numerous, various outside activities have been set up - games like croquet and bocce are joined by various sport balls, Frisbees, jump ropes, and anything else you can imagine. Nearby a table has been placed, holding various foods prepared by the attendees and the nice kind of disposable plates and cutlery, the sturdy kind with little flowers on them. If none of this tickles your fancy, there's always the actual garden to keep you occupied.

Chances are you heard tell of this party and came to participate! Though no one would begrudge you for just taking food and leaving, much less the hostess. Jane will welcome you with a smile no matter what.

Comments

[hardenedimmortal]

It has been a long time since Adam had been to anything resembling a garden party. So, upon hearing about said party, he made plans to attend. It could be vaguely entertaining, right? Hopefully their version of "garden party" wouldn't turn out to be something similar to something out of a certain book with a little girl in a mad world.

Adam brought a very delicious desert, Uiro, with him. After all, when he could prepare in advance, he rather liked bringing food with him to a party. That and he had plenty of time on his hands, not being able to sleep and all.

[theabjectauthor]

Lemony had agreed almost immediately to help Jane with her garden party, and he's in the process of setting out the croquet set when Adam arrives, dessert in hand.

"Good afternoon, sir!" He smiles, setting the pile of wickets down on a nearby bench so that he can approach for a proper greeting.

[cyan_maid]

Oh, nothing like it in the least! It is decidedly less ridiculous.

Jane tries her very best to greet everyone when they arrive, to see if they brought something - though she wouldn't turn away someone who hadn't - and if so, what was it? She eyes the uiro curiously.

"My, I've never seen anything like that before!"

[patching_up]

5 feels, to an extent, that he has a bit of a reason to celebrate. Even several days after the castle changed him back to his typical form, he still feels immensely relieved to be himself again-- and a chance to go outdoors and enjoy the company of his friends sounds like a wonderful idea to him.

Unfortunately, he has no knowledge of cooking and wouldn't have been able to make enough food for anyone even if he did, but he hopes that no one will mind his presence regardless. He instead makes his way over to the garden proper, stopping to admire the colorful flowers with a quiet smile.

[theabjectauthor]

Croquet, Lemony had decided, was a perfect sort of game for an outdoor picnic. It encouraged mingling, didn't require an awful lot of time to learn, and could be played by almost all ages and skill sets. Even someone as young as Sunny, though she might not have been able to wield a mallet, could still sit in the grass and gnaw contentedly on a bail or a ball, both of which were quite sturdy and colorful.

He's in the process of sticking the thin wire arches into the grass, being careful to follow the prescribed pattern, when he spots movement near the flowers.

"... Hello?"

[cyan_maid]

And it isn't too far from his birthday, right? Only twelve days off, though the timing couldn't be helped.

Jane thinks she spotted something heading towards the garden, and quietly, she makes her way over. Maybe they didn't know about the party? They should come! "Hello? Is someone over here?"

[onlythefishiest]

Feferi brought food! There's a distinctly odd plate of something on the food table, right next to the bowl of raw, unpeeled prawns. At least, they look mostly like prawns, if kind of larger than most prawns ever dream of. The something is brown and roughly loaf-shaped, but it isn't giving up any other ideas to what it is.

Feferi herself is off to one side, sat comfortably on a blanket. She hasn't really been up to much these last couple of days, but hiding away isn't her style at all, so something new to distract her is really welcome right now. Especially something that lets her meet new people.

[theabjectauthor]

"Oh, goodness."

Lemony is examining that odd plate of something with an expression that is trying very very very hard not to be fear. It wouldn't be polite, after all, especially since someone was ... generous? ... enough to bring food for everyone.

"... I wonder what this is."

[cyan_maid]

Jane can't think of who might've brought those three things, though the brown something at least tips her off to the bringer being a troll. She's seen grubloaf before, buster, she knows what it is. But let it not be said that she will hold the food against its bringer! Everyone had different tastes, after all.

When she spots Feferi, she approaches with a smile. "Hello! I don't believe we've met before!"

[littlesoul]

River did not bring food. River didn't even know this was going on, actually. She just came to the gardens because it's become a part of her routine.

But there does seem to be a party going on and it makes her smile. She picks a flower, braiding it into her hair before wandering towards the food and poking at it lightly. She's not hungry but she always enjoyed seeing what people brought to parties.

[theabjectauthor]

Lemony is making the last few arrangements to the table with the little tea sandwiches when he turns around and sees her.

"River!" He smiles, wiping his hands fastidiously on a cloth napkin. "How good to see you. I'm quite glad you came."

[littlesoul]

She smiles brightly at the sight of someone she knew. It wan always nice to have someone familiar around in situations like this.

"Hello," she greets, and she moves over to him, her plate in her hands. "It's very nice."

[theabjectauthor]

"I'm afraid I cannot take credit for the idea - my good friend Jane was the one to organize it all." He gestures idly over toward where Jane is conversing with one of the other guests.

"Would you care for a tea sandwich? These are watercress, and the others are chicken and egg salad, respectively."

[cyan_maid]

Jane doesn't know any of that, of course. She just sees someone new by the food table, and she makes her way over with a welcoming smile. It would be very rude of her not to greet someone, after all.

"Well, hello!" Jane says. "Have you come for the party?"

[littlesoul]

"Hello," she greets a smile on her face. "You have a very nice party."

[cyan_maid]

"Why, thank you!" What a nice thing to say! Jane grins wider. "I don't believe we've met, though. What's your name?

[bravelittlegirl]

This is a little strange for Ib. She found Garry eventually, asleep and not waking up, and ever since she's been going to him frequently, making sure his rose has enough water, things like that. In between, she's not sure what to do. The castle doesn't feel the same anymore. It's... unpleasant. She doesn't want to be inside it.

So today she's found herself out in the garden, only to discover somebody's arrived there first. Another party? Even now? She stands off to the side at first, watching the attendees. There's even several that she knows - Jane, Feferi, River. But she's not sure how to approach, not sure if... if... Ib clutches her rose tight, nervous.

[cyan_maid]

Ib needn't worry! Jane has a keen eye out for anyone who might approach, and she comes over immediately. It's when she's a few feet away that she stops and really looks at who's come to her party.

"...Ib??"

[bravelittlegirl]

Ib shrinks a little when she notices Jane approaching, but there's nowhere to go, and her red eyes lock with the older girl's blue. Was she not supposed to come here? Was this something she wasn't supposed to see? But all she does when Jane says her name is to nod silently.

[cyan_maid]

Immediately, Jane grins, and she comes forward to give the girl a hug, minding the rose in her hand because it isn't nice to crush something that belongs to someone else. "You're alright!" She exclaims.

[bravelittlegirl]

Ib lets out a little noise of surprise, careful to hold her rose well out of the way. Even after a couple of days, human contact still feels pretty bizarre compared to absolute sensory deprivation. But she returns the hug, at first hesitantly, but then with a little more confidence. It really does help.

"I'm sorry," she says after a moment. "If I made you worry."

[psych0p0mps]

Aradia arrives a little late. Once she's found a spot for her casserole (which is basically Hamburger Helper), she seeks out Jane and - after the basic hello hello - goes ahead and delivers a message with her customary tact.

"Vriska and Nepeta aren't going to make it, they're still dead," she says.

[cyan_maid]

The Hamburger Helper is a very welcome addition to the spread!

Jane is...a little used to Aradia's tact. Or perhaps it's the castle she's used to? Either way, she nods. She'd smile, but she can't even bring herself to give a sad one.

"That's alright. They can't help it, after all, though I do hope they come back soon.

[psych0p0mps]

Aradia nods back. "Yeah. And that they're all right, when they do." Given what she'd seen coming out of Vriska's think pan, there were really no guarantees on that front. "I just want to figure out what happened to her. Vriska, I mean. Nepeta didn't go half as maggots as she did. It would really suck if she came back and we just had to put her down again."

Yes, Aradia, this is totally appropriate party conversation.

[cyan_maid]

Now that takes Jane aback, but she is nothing if she's not able to bounce back. "Well, um, gosh! I couldn't say. We should probably ask her when she comes back, shouldn't we?"

Yes, let's not continue to kill our friends, how's that sound?